Violet
by HeatherMariePaishlay
Summary: From sunny Sanford, Florida, newly adopted sixteen year old Violet is flown to La Push, Washington, expecting this home to be the same as the nine others she's been in: miserable and abusive, but when things begin to click, she begins to second guess everything she's ever known. Especially with the mysterious and quiet Embry shadowing her every step... (Embry/OOC[Violet])
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first fanfic so I'm a little nervous. All characters except for the ones that are obviously mine belong to Stephanie Meyer, the genius herself. Enjoy!_

CHAPTER ONE

Different...

"You've been adopted. Congratulations!" My social worker beamed. Theresa had always been a warm person and had been there for me for years. We'd bonded through the years through countless triumphs trumped. There were tears in her eyes at this point.

I smiled artificially. "That's great." I mumbled.

Hope was constantly built up, only to tear me down again. At this point, that was all I could muster. An artificial smile that stayed plastered on my mouth, like a stroke had ripped through my mind and shocked my mouth into an upside down frown. My left leg began to bounce, as my nerves were jolted into movement.

"They'll be here in a few minutes and then they'll take you. I know that you haven't even met them before, but we thought it better for you, if it was a surprise. That way you don't get cold feet or anything." Theresa said, breathing in deeply to rid the sobs wanting to burst forth. "This is it." She said strongly, her face changing suddenly, trepidation turning into confidence. Her green eyes stared into mine. "I promise."

Promises… factors that fabricated themselves in my mind, only to tear to pieces in a matter of moments. I grimaced internally, and nodded externally.

"I believe you." I lied, biting the inside of my cheek. The acidic lie began to give me heart burn. I swallowed, pushing away the pain.

I wanted to believe her. I really did, but the doubt weighed my mind down into the tar pit of uncertainty and fear. What if this family… what if they… were 'strict'? It took months to get out of my last situation. This family lived in-

"La Push, Washington. Now, it _is_ a reservation, but you have special permission, according to their 'elders council'."

Washington? It could take years if it was the case… I glanced out the window we were seated at. This… all of this was going away. I was used to Florida… to the warm nights, and warm ocean waters. Sanford had been my home for so long. I was going to freezing Washington, where it was overcast 365 days a year? I shuddered at the thought.

"I better pack for snow then, huh?" I smiled tentively.

Theresa gauged my expression and then smiled. "I took the liberty of getting your things together, personally. I know you like dark colors, and your bedroom is already set up." She took my hand, which was coated in nervous sweat. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I've met with them personally. This is different." As if that really changed things… she'd said that about the last nine families. "They're dog people!" She chimed in. Okay, maybe that did.

I'd always been a huge animal person, especially dogs… they never let you down. When you were having a bad day, they cheered you up with their wet pink tongues and prodding cold noses. My plaster lips began to crack and began to show my genuine smile.

I started when the small café door opened with a positive chime. I pulled the wall up in my mind that kept the past just beyond it. I was not going to collapse. This was my chance to impress, and falling unconscious was not the way to do so.

I looked out the window, seeing nothing beyond. Trying to act nonchalant, I leaned further down in my seat, avoiding the sound of blood pounding at my temples. Act nonchalant, and maybe they'll like you. I breathed slowly, listening with all my might.

One was wearing steel toed boots, and the other was wearing squeaky sneakers.

"Sam! Emily! Oh, I'm so glad to see you." The sound of clothing moving back and forth must have meant they were shaking hands.

I stared out the window, not blinking.

"Violet?"

Internally, I cleared my mind.

He was handsome. Tall as heck! But he was handsome. Clearly Native American, as their features and hometown's name suggested. He smiled slightly, but he was holding back, uncertain. His brown eyes examined my face, and I shivered slightly. The wall began to crack, and I swiftly, unemotionally, and frantically shoved up another one. _Not now._ I scolded my mind.

"I'm Sam. It's nice to meet you." He said stiffly, extending a hand. His hand shake was firm, as I forced mine to be. His face changed the smallest bit. His smile seemed little more truthful.

I turned to look at Emily, and my heart cracked. Her face was scarred, as if someone had taken a large fork and slashed her face. Tears formed in my eyes, and I began to shake. Her eyes, soft and understanding, smiled back at mine.

Panicked, I wiped the tears away. She was so beautiful. "Pardon me… you just remind me a lot of…" The walls that I'd been piling one on top of another exploded and staring back at me was a memory so strong that I had to shield myself from the onslaught of memories. Somehow, though, as if by a miracle, the memories were manageable. I smiled, and held out my hand. "I'm Violet, but you can call me Vi. As if hi, but with a v."

Emily laughed. "Well thank you for the clarification."

Theresa's eye's wide with disbelief bore holes into the side of my head. I couldn't believe it either… I was actually genial to these people. Normally I was reserved, even afraid, and only whispered greetings. Something _was_ different. I almost trusted this couple.

They _did_ look like dog lovers.

My mind reeled as the information was given to Emily and Sam, and before I knew it, we were getting ready to board the plane. Theresa had joined us, and when they called for boarding, she stopped me and hugged me tightly. "I know you'll do great with them. They're good people."

"I'll see you soon." I mumbled out of habit. Her smile wavered, and tears began to well in her eyes.

"No. You won't." I looked up at her. "I'm moving. To Spain, with my fiancé."

Alarm began to seep into my bones. I was moving to Washington, _and_ she was moving to Spain. I shook my head slowly, numbly, and before I could stop myself, I was hugging her so tight, my arms were numb.

"No. No. No… You can't leave me! Please, don't leave me with these people! Don't leave me with these people, and run away from me! Don't! PLEASE, DON'T!" At this point I was in hysterics, angry tears falling down my cheeks, and streaking down my neck, wetting my t-shirt collar.

"Listen."

"NO!"

She pushed me away at arms length, and with piercing eyes stared down at me. "I will call every week. You will be okay. I knew I was leaving, and I knew I had to find the right family. _This_ is the right family. Trust me!" She cried, and shook me.

Of course it would have been considered illegal to shake a foster kid, especially since she was a social worker, but she was like the older sister that I'd lost a long time ago. I did trust her, and I hated that fact. I hated that I could so easily trust someone. My face began to get redder, as my anger ten folded in on itself, ready to implode, and suck everyone in.

I shoved her away. "Fine! Go! Leave me! Just leave me with a bunch of strangers! You're good at that!" I yanked up my carryon from the floor, and turned to walk away but paused. "I hate you!"

I quickly shoved past a few people who had begun to stare. I thrusted my ticket into the attendant's face, and at first she began to protest, but upon seeing my expression, asked if I was alright. I glared at her.

"Does it look like I'm alright?" I huffed. "No, I am not alright. Just take my ticket, give me the stub, and let me pass." Startled, she obliged. "Thank you."

I quickly boarded the plane, ignoring the looks people were giving me, and took my window seat. It was only a reminder of how truly nice Theresa was. She knew I got horrible motion sickness, and needed a window seat. It also reminded me of how she knew I needed a window seat. Because she'd placed me on enough that I probably could mouth the oxygen, phone, and seat belt regulations the attendants recited.

Sam and Emily eventually boarded, and Emily took the seat next to mine. Sam took the one just across the isle from us. She said nothing, but spoke to Sam in hushed, soothing tones.

Eventually, I shut out everything around me, and watched the clouds pass under us. We passed above giant thunder clouds that billowed like angry peacocks ruffling their plumage. We only met with turbulence once on our plane, the one that went from Dallas to Portland.

The turbulence, several times, had me gripping the seat's arms tightly, and a few times, I couldn't help a whimper. I soon began to shake, and tears were falling down my cheeks, my face growing red. I held my breath the majority of the time, and I forced myself to look out the window. The wall was coming down, and with it memories too many to count. They were ones of screaming and crying and the sound of wet thuds. Then there were whispers. I closed my eyes, and let the memories consume me into the silent abyss of unconsciousness.

_End of chapter one… Next chapter: LA PUSH! Yay! _

_Reviews are apreciado! :)_

_H. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for the reviews! Here's chapter two. Dig in!_

_(All the characters, except for the ones that are obviously mine, belong to Stephenie Meyer.)_

CHAPTER TWO

Home…

"Violet? Violet? Honey, wake up. Everything's okay." A calm, gentle voice called to me through the abyss. I reached through my memory, stretching beyond all the bad, to find the one good that I was so accustomed, but when I surfaced, I found a stranger's scarred face.

"What happened?" Was my generic response.

For a moment there was quiet and then a young woman's voice chirped, "Here's a coke. Oh, you're awake. Thank goodness! When you began to shake uncontrollably, well, we thought the worse. Are you prone to epilepsy? See my brother has that, and if he's stressed or pushed beyond what he can handled… well, he has seizures." She looked at me with big eyes, and I stared.

"Where am I?" I asked instead, reaching up to my throbbing head.

Emily, holding my other hand, said, "Portland airport. We've arrived." She thanked the flight attendant and handed me the drink. The flight attendant backed off, and disappeared.

I hated coke.

"Sorry, I don't really like coke." I said nicely, taking the drink anyway. In one giant gulp, it was down, the taste lingering. I grimaced, and handed it back to her. Although I wanted to gag in reflex to the bitter after taste, I smiled painfully at Emily.

People were already gone, and it was only us on the plane. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I was holding you up." I stood quickly, only to fall back into the seat, the world spinning in circles around me.

"Take your time." Emily urged. "You really worried us there for a minute. You just started shaking, and we had no idea what was going on. I called your name a few times, but you just shook even more violently. Do you know what happened?"

I hesitated, and then decided that they might as well know. "I… don't really know. It happens sometimes. The doctors have never been able to figure it out."

She nodded slowly, and I stood, balancing myself by holding the seat in front of me. The spinning grew worse, but standing through it, I closed my eyes, and I gradually became accustomed to it, then it all but disappeared. Emily stood as well, and grabbed my carryon for me. I began to object, but Sam took it from her, and winked at me. I'd forgotten about Sam, he was so silent. There was no way I was going to say no to Sam.

Soon, we were off the plane and walking out to receive our luggage. "Sam! Emily!" A deep voice boomed. I nearly jumped out of my skin, when a very tall man bounded forward and grabbed both of them into a giant bear hug. I darted away, and avoiding eye contact with anything, walked up to the luggage carousel.

I could hear the loud young man, Sam, Emily, and another voice speaking, but I tried to block them out, reforming the wall in my brain that had been crushed to rubble on the plane. Relief saturated my muscles when I saw my name tags on two bright electric blue suitcases. Groaning, I grabbed them, and placed them on the ground. I stared and then looked away, my lower jaw moving to the side in annoyance. Count on Theresa to pick the most flamboyant suitcases you could find.

As I stood there, I heard the four voices grow louder. Acting as I had when I first met Sam and Emily, I pulled the suitcases away from the carousel, and stood, casually tense, arms crossed over my chest. I gazed intensely at a tile, ignoring the voices.

"Violet?" Emily called.

Tightening my stomach muscles, I didn't turn. There were too many people here. It was so easy. I could just run. I've done it before… _No, Vi… don't do it. Remember what happened last time. Just put on your thousand watt smile, and you'll be fine. _I told myself, and with a deep breath, turned to the four strangers.

The first was tall, just like Sam, and the second was just as tall as the first. For a moment, I thought I was looking at a set of triplets, but then I realized that the first was slightly shorter, slouched over, and the second was shorter than the first, a giant ball of energy and muscle. Both took me in, their eyes smiling.

"Hot." The ball of energy blurted out, and my smile diminished. I blinked, and turned away, calming myself, punching away the black strings of abyss.

"Paul!" Emily cried, punching him in the arm. I turned back around, and smiled nervously.

He shrugged, feigning innocence. "What? It's hot in here!"

The one next to him, was trying so hard not to laugh, his entire frame was shaking. "Yeah," He said between quakes. "It's really hot in here."

Sam shook his head, and grabbed both of them by the shoulders, standing between them. "The first idiot is Paul." He gestured to the one on his right. "He's the one that thinks it's _so_ hot in here. This one is Quill." To the left. "He's the one that will agree with the first dumbass that speaks."

Quill stopped laughing and glared at Sam. "I do not!"

Paul grinned. "Yeah, he doesn't!"

"Yeah, I don't!" He indignantly punched Sam in the side.

Sam looked at me pointedly. "Point proved."

Paul's smile disappeared and Quill was shaking again. I shuddered, and looked at both of them, trying to get their attention with my eyes. The last thing I wanted was a fight in the middle of the airport.

"I'm Violet. It's nice to meet you." I whispered, kicking myself inside for being so shy.

They continued to fight, until Sam grabbed both of their heads, and physically turned them my direction.

I swallowed, and repeated, "I'm Violet. It's nice to meet you."

They looked at me for a minute, eyes blank. Confused, I glanced at Emily. She shook her head and smiled. "Anytime a beautiful young lady walks in, they revert to their hormones. Don't worry about it."

I blushed, flattered, but slightly shaken.

Soon we were in Sam and Emily's jeep, Emily driving and Sam talking to her quietly in the passenger's seat, and I was stuck in the back with the two idiots.

I tried to ignore them, but since I was stuck in the middle, there wasn't much I could do, except stare straight ahead, rigidly. I watched the road arc left and right, counting the time down in my head.

"I'm telling you, it's Batman." Paul grumbled.

"No, Superman!" Quill whined, reaching over my head to punch him. My back muscles tensed uncomfortably.

Paul began to grow red. "No!"

Quill looked down at me. "Tell him that Superman totally powns Batman."

At this point I was in no mood to play this game. "I'm not really the person-."

"See, she agrees with me. Batman!"

"Superman flies!"

"Batman has a butler! What now?!" He made a lunging gesture at Quill, who reached over and punched him again.

Out of desperation, I called out the first thing that came to mind. "Thor!"

They both stopped and stared. Paul snorted. "Thor? Really?"

Quill snorted with laughter. Before I could respond both began to rumble with laughter and soon were leaning against the car doors, unable to control themselves. Sam and Emily at this point finally took notice.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, concerned by my expression.

I was mortally horrified. For the longest time I thought I was actually understanding these people and then BOOM!

I wasn't.

"Thor." I mumbled. Sam and Emily smiled and were soon laughing so hard that Emily had to pull over.

La Push wasn't what I expected. Trees covered most of the roads, and a lot of the time, forced Quill or Paul out to move fallen branches out of the way. Everything dripped. The sky dripped, the trees dripped, and even the houses dripped. I was used to the once a day rain shower that sunny Florida got, but this was constant. It was as if everything _breathed _and sweated. It was as if La Push was running a marathon that it was struggling to keep up with.

"I'm actually surprised it's not raining." Emily told me. "It usually rains non-stop."

"Yeah, I'm getting out here." Emily stopped and Paul jumped out. "It was nice meeting you, Violet." He breathed in deeply. "Man, it sure is hot out here!" And he disappeared into the trees.

I blinked. "Umm…"

"He's an avid hiker." Sam explained, but it still seemed odd.

"Yeah, really loves it." Quill agreed, hiding a grin.

Sam threw him a warning look and I watched them closely.

We drove a little ways and soon we were in the heart of town. Made up of small homes, and stores, it was homely. Everyone knew someone it seemed.

"I'm off here." And with the jeep still moving, Quill opened the door and shut it behind him. "It sure _is_ hot!"

Tossing a smirk, he disappeared into one of the stores.

Sam and Emily's home was just as they had explained on the walk to the airport in Orlando. It was small, with yellow paint, and blue shutters. A wind chime hung lazily, water falling from it, as it chimed softly.

"Welcome home!" Emily's scarred face split into a smile.

"It's so pretty." I complimented, hopping out of the car.

"Come on in." Emily waved as the jeep fell into silence.

I timidly waited for Emily, who ushered me in. Inside it was even prettier. I couldn't help the tears that came to my eyes. It really did seem like home, the home I couldn't ever forget.

The first thing I saw was a handmade dining table and just behind a partition was the kitchen. Beyond was the living room and a small hallway that led to three doors.

"Your room is down the hall to the left." Emily pushed me along until I was standing at my bedroom door.

Cautiously, almost nervously, I opened it. It was a small room, with a twin sized bed, the comforter speckled with yellow, blue, and purple flowers. A small desk sat adjacent, with a blue desk lamp on it. The dresser, a bit bigger than the desk, looked hand made, just as the dining table did. A window gaped open, letting in cool wet air. Trees, like a maze of greens and browns that glistened like crystals hypnotized me.

I took everything in, small tears welling in my eyes. I forced them to stay put. I was touched, but I wasn't a big baby.

The memory of the airport flashed in my mind and of Theresa's expression as I uttered those three words. I violently pushed them away and turned to Emily.

"It's amazing." I whispered, smiling widely.

Emily, from the doorway, grinned. "Well, I'm glad." She leaned back and called out to Sam. "Hey, Sam, go run and tell everyone she's here, and that we'll be there in an hour or so."

The front door opened and closed.

Emily looked back at me. "Welcome home." She smiled and vanished around the doorframe and down the hall.

I turned back to looking out the window. My stomach fluttered with warmth.

"Home." For the first time in a long time, I actually liked the sound of that word.

_End of Chapter two! I'm torn… should I bring in Embry in the next chapter, or let the suspense carry on? I know that this chapter wasn't actually up to par, but hopefully the next one will be better. Please, review! I love 'em! J_

_H._


	3. Make the grades go away!

Hey all!

I know it has literally been forever since I last posted a chapter. My life as been utterly chaotic, with finals, and friend drama, and college admissions. You have my word that I will post my next chapter by next week, Thursday. Again, I am so incredibly sorry! And, yes, Embry will make his first appearance. ;)

H.


	4. Chapter 3

_Alright people! Sorry for such a wait. But no matter! Here's chapter 3!_

The sky had grown increasing dark, and soon, the foggy day had turned tar black, and the rain had grown into an utter downpour from the sprinkling that had begun only an hour and a half ago. We'd planned to leave nearly an hour ago for something that they'd refused to tell me exactly what it was, but they said that it would be later at night, when the rain would let up. At this point, I was beginning to think that they'd have to just cancel, but they insisted that they'd follow through with their plans.

Eventually, I'd ventured out of the room that Sam and Emily had insisted I do whatever I want to -just not burn it down.

"Too bad." I mumbled at one point, at an attempt of humor. "I really like candles."

"OH! Well, so do I!" Emily jumped in, with a nervous excitement. She glanced at Sam, and he put a reassuring hand on her knee. "I use candles all the time." She smiled at me. "My favorite is vanilla. It reminds me of my mother."

The wall, up until this point, had been cracking, fissured into a crevice of black, where a river of memories were pulled roughly to and fro. A soft, heart-shaped face stared back at me, tears in its eyes.

"_I remember when I was a little girl. Every day, my mama used to light a candle for me before I went to bed. It smelled like fresh lavender, and when I would have nightmares, I would awake to a dark room, but the smell lingered, so that even though I was in the dark where tall shadows danced, the smell was there to comfort me."_

Just like my mother, she would do the same, until the last night I saw her.

"Lavender." I replied, attempting to give a genuine smile, but the memory of her voice was too painful.

Emily smiled. "If you'd like, when spring comes, we could plant some flowers."

I nodded, smiling with my eyes. "Sure." Pause. "May I ask you something personal?"

Emily reached up to her face, Sam tensed, and I shook my head. "No. Not about that. That's obviously something much more personal than is appropriate for me to ask." Sam relaxed considerably. "Why did you choose to adopt. I mean, especially an angsty seventeen year old, who has a ton of baggage." I whispered, not looking them in the eye.

A hand reached across the dining table, scooting my coffee cup aside, and gently grabbed my hand. "I can't have children." I figured that much. "The doctor told me when I was younger that I had polycystic ovary syndrome, which had scarred quite a bit of me, but I was determined to have a family of my own, so I chose adoption. And as for why a seventeen year old? I get angsty teenagers so much more than bratty toddlers. Eventually I will adopt a baby, but I need a starter. So far it's a great start."

I looked up at her, and smiled. "I'm glad." And removed my hand from hers. I was willing to talk, but physical contact was not going to be a part of it.

I could see Emily's smile wane, and Sam scrutinized my expression, but they both dropped it. We continued talking about mediocre things, until I'd glanced out the window, and found that the rain had altogether stopped.

"Ah!" Sam said, standing. I'm sure Billy and the boys are wondering where we're at. Looks like time got away from us."

"It usually does." I blurted out, and cleared my throat, once again reverting my eyes, ignoring their questioning silence.

"Well, let's go, before it turns into a hunt for time!" She said, with a big huff, standing with Sam.

"Yeah." I chuckled.

We ended up at a rocky beach, where several bonfires were burning. Freshly started fires burned a bright green. I watched on in awe. Clouds began to depart, and soon the bright full moon glowed around everything, casting a white coat, almost like snow.

"It's the salt from the ocean that turns the fires that color." Emily called from ahead of me. Sam was already at the biggest fire, where a large crowd had begun to gather. Emily walked quickly toward them, and soon they were very far away from me.

I stood there, watching all of this, feeling like a small ant forced to carry the sky, a big purple grape. The ocean ebbed and flowed, like the memory river far below the crevice in the wall in my mind. Somehow, the ocean seemed so much more peaceful, and not as loud. Silver clouds floated across the sky, gliding like those graceful dragons you see on the Chinese fans, worth thousands of dollars.

"Violet!" Emily called across the expanse. Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward, and paused.

Were these people going to like me? Was I going to be just another obstacle? Just another face in the crowd? Pushed along just like any other fish in a school of them? I took a step back, uncertainty sweeping across my brow. What if I made it down there and they ridiculed me? What if they called me a killer? Called me worthless… the only worth I was was another suicide?

I jumped when Emily called again.

No. I wasn't. Besides, who cared? Up until now, things had been fine. I didn't need to have their approval. Soon, I would be eighteen and legally free from the system.

I squared my shoulders, and stomped forward, determination wiping away the uncertainty. I walked, and walked, and walked. Good god, how long was this going to-

"Everyone!" Emily grabbed my shoulder and showed me off proudly. Sam even seemed to stand up a bit taller. "This is Violet."

The group silenced, and everyone stared. My stomach sunk, but when the faces of curiosity and tentative wonder flipped into smiles, and everyone walked forward, truly happy to meet me, my stomach jumped so high, that the smile on my face left me breathless.

"It's the hot girl!" Paul called, and was slapped on the chest by a girl his arms were wrapped around. I tried to keep my eyes off the place that she'd slapped, but it was really friggin' hard. "This is Kim." Kim gave a short wave, and grinned. "How are you doin'?" He asked.

"Good." I mumbled, suddenly succumb with shyness at the fact that I was talking to a shirtless male, only a few years older than myself.

"Good!" He shouted, as he ambled toward the shore, Kim still clinging to him.

"Those two…" A woman snorted. She turned to me, and reached out a hand. "I'm Susan and this is-" She named a whole horde of people who smiled at me warmly. "Are we missing someone?" She looked confused or a moment, when a voice, like the softness of feathers and warmth of a candle's flame, said a few words, so simple and yet like a lullaby.

"I'm here. Don't worry, I didn't die. Hi, I'm Embry." And then the face appeared, and for a moment, just a slight moment, the wall shifted.

It didn't crumble, or fissure, or shake. It just moved. As if another plane of understanding flattened itself in my mind, like a chalk board, ready to be written on. Like the pages in a book, flipping open, to new unmarred pages. There were no coffee cup stains, or candle wax, or water damage. No scribbles or doodles, and no torn, or dog-eared pages. Just a shift. A small little shift that changed a lot of things, but the wall was still there, with its secrets just beyond it.

Whether he felt this shift, I'm not sure, but I could only assume something happened.

"Hi." He repeated, his face blank and in slight shock.

"Hi." I replied, trying to hide the blush on my cheeks.

I kicked myself internally. _Start a conversation!_ I told myself, but he beat me to the punch.

"I'm Embry." He held out a hand. Nervously, because I knew my hands were sweaty, I took it.

"Violet." I murmured. We shook hands.

All my life, I'd been told I'd had big spider-like fingers, which were used to play guitar and piano, as well as the occasional violin, but mine dwarfed in comparison. It felt strange and right all at the same time.

We stood there, shaking hands, until a ripple of laughter broke out from the crowd. I quickly pulled mine away, self-consciously, leaving his shaking by itself. In realization, he jerked it back and chuckled nervously, only to shoot Quill a look of complete irritation.

"Food's ready!" And most of the men and Leah, lunged at it, picking up anything they could find. "Hey, easy!" Emily called, her voice cutting their quickness in half.

"Sorry." Paul, who'd suddenly appeared at the mention of food, apologized with a mouth full of burger. Off on the side, I could see Kim roll her eyes.

Embry hadn't joined them, and noticing this, Paul called out, his words seeming to have a double meaning, "Aren't you hungry, man?"

Embry shot him another look. "Shove it."

I stared at him, wondering what was wrong. For a slight second I had seen something, but what remained seemed odd. If a person could _glow_ without literally glowing, then he had broken a Guiness World Record.

"Fine. Vi?" Paul turned to me, and shoved a hotdog in my hands. It was somewhat smushed, but the thought was what counted.

"Thanks." I turned it over in my hand and tried to hide the disgust. I'd hated hotdogs since I was very small.

It was right after I'd been placed into my first home. The lady that lived there had nine kids, including me, and by the time she-who had no business with children- got off both her shifts, she'd have her eldest daughter cook the dinner, who was so busy making out with her girlfriend, that we'd end up with burnt hotdogs most nights. I'd left that house after a report of negligence from my school, and following me were seven of her other kids, all underage.

"You want that?" Quill had come up at this point and had an arm around Embry's shoulder.

I looked down at the forlorn hotdog. "Well, it kind of deserves a better home. Here."

_Story of my life_. I thought bitterly.

Quill ate it in two bites, smiling like a five year old. "Thanks." He said with a full mouth, a piece flying out. Shrugging, he smiled and moved on.

People had hit the ground at this point, running a marathon to get as much food as they could before it was gone. Most were sitting on thick logs around the fire, their drink wedged between rocks. My hunger had dissipated. Something in me felt… weird. There was no other word for it. I tried my best to ignore Embry, but his presence was so heavy, I was pulled to him like a magnet. I knew he felt it too, because every few minutes, he would inch a little closer.

Abruptly, I jerked away internally.

"I'm going for a walk." I said loudly, unsteadily.

Emily stood and came towards me. "Are you alright, honey?"

The wall that I'd forgotten about up until this point shook in rage, and it threatened to fall on top of me. Dark spilled out of the edges, like moldy ink, and I flinched away from its spiky, cold tendrils.

"No. I'm fine." I croaked, and turned on my heel, toward the car.

Before, I'd thought that the walk was long, but it didn't take long for me to run to their car. I pulled on the handle with such ferocity that when I realized it was locked, I was pushed backwards by gravity, so I was forced onto the concrete. Hitting the back of my head, for a moment I saw black specks, like dark stars in my head, but they soon faded, and then I was looking up at regular stars. Embry's face appeared in my mind, the stark clean plane beside the dirty wall, dulling the stars, and the glowing, effervescent moon.


	5. A Few Moments Please

**_Hey, Guys, sorry! My editing skills were kind of crappy this time. I thought I'd have all the free time in the world, but because of certain circumstances, I had to get a job, so now my time is swamped between the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, and Papa Johns. Yes, dear lord Almighty! Help me now. So, I cannot promise another chapter by today, but I'm free this weekend, so I'll put the next chapter, on my priority list of things to do. The next chapter, Embry and Violet _****_really_****_ meet, and things get steamy! Or I hope they do; I haven't really thought of where this story is going. Ahaha. If you have any suggestions or corrections or you feel like stating a point that I'm utterly missing in these characters, please feel free to comment. Also, for all of those following the story and favoriting it, you not only put a smile on my face, but make me proud to show it off in general (Don't worry, I don't have hubris!). Again thank you! And I should have the next chapter out by Saturday or Sunday. I'll probably have it out Sunday, because I'll have written it by Saturday. I DON'T KNOW! xD_**

**_Just,_**

**_H._**


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